Convertible furniture



July 4, 1939. v. M. KRAINBILL CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed Feb. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR lman 1% Kramlzi/l A O R N EYS I July 4, 1939. v. M. KRAINBILL CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed Feb. 5; 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR i kmon fii. fframzil Patented July 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to convertible furniture.

An object of this invention is to produce a combination article of furniture which, although set up as one particular type of article at any one time in the room in which it is to be used,

may be converted into articles of various other types.

Another object is to provide an article of furniture suitable for use as a club chair and convertible to a reclining chair, a couch or day bed, and several forms of settees, and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide an article of furniture which can be used to seat one person or can be converted to seat several persons either together in it as the one article of furniture or separately on different parts of it in several places in the room.

Preferably, the invention is an article of furniture which comprises a chair member similar to a club chair having a seat and a back portion and a foot and leg rest member consisting preferably of at least two complementary, substantially triangular (or otherwise desirably shaped) sections and two side or arm members which are hinged at the rear to the rear portion of the chair member so that the side members can .be swung independently along a horizontal plane about such hinges away from the forward portion of the seat, thereby producing a space between the seat and the respective side members into which can be inserted at least one of the substantially triangular or otherwise shaped sections of the foot and leg rest member. The foot and leg rest member is preferably substantially of the same height as the seat portion of the chair member. The sections of the foot and .leg rest member will hereinafter be referred to also as expansion members or expansion sections.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear from the more detailed description of the invention read in connection with the accompanying illustrations forming a portion of the specification and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the article of furniture with one (triangular) expansion section completely inserted between the seat-and one of the movable arm membersand showing the other arm member partly swung away from the seat while the second (triangular) expansion member is in position to be inserted therebetween;

Fig. 2 is a broken perspective viewof a portion of the frame to illustrate the structural relationship between the arm and chair members and ahinging arrangement by which the arm is attached to the rear portion of the chair member and to show a suitable means for attaching the expansion sections to the seat;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2 and represents a detailed view of a con- 5 venient means of removably attaching or securing the various parts for holding them in fixed contiguous position;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the article arranged as a reclining chair or a club chair with the arms 10 in closed position and two complementary, substantially triangular expansion sections arranged contiguous to the front of the seat to serve as a foot and leg rest;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the article of Fig. 15 4 with both expansion sections of the foot and leg rest completely inserted between the arm members and the seat showing the article arranged as a settee capable of seating three persons;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a modification of the article of Fig. 4 with the rear corners of the chair rounded and the narrow ends of the expansion sections rounded;

Fig. '7 is another top plan view of the modification shown in Fig. 6, but with the forward one of the expansion sections completely inserted between the seat and one of the arm members and the other expansion member still contiguous to the front of the seat; and 30 Fig. 8 illustrates another form of the invention, in which the foot and leg rest member is a substantially rectangular member shown inserted between the seat and one of the arm members (swung out into practically a straight line with the back member) while the other arm member is in closed position, thereby forming a couch or day bed.

Referring to the drawings, l5 and I6 represent respectively the seat and back portions of thechair member of the article of furniture. I! and I8 are the arm members, while the foot and leg rest member is represented by the substantially triangular expansion sections l9 and 20 (Figs. 1, 4 through 7) and the four-sided substantially rectangular expansion section 2| (Fig. 8).

The rear portion of each of the arm members I! and I8 is hinged to the rear portion of the chair member by suitable means as the hinges 25. Hinges may be used to attach the arm member either to the rear part of the seat portion I5 alone if the back portion is to be built independently movable or to the rear parts of both the seat portion l5 and the back portion l6 if 55 the back portion is to remain rigidly fixed. If desired only one arm may be hinged so that when in open position, both triangular sections with the narrow ends of each inward may be received in the resulting space,

With the foot and leg rest member consisting of the expansion sections is and 2B or 2! removed from in front of the seat and the arm members H and !8 closed against the seat E5, the article of furniture can serve as a club chair. While the foot and leg rest member is not in use in conjunction with the chair, it may be used in any other part of the room as a large hassock, or the two expansion members i9 and 23 thereof may be separated and used as individual hassocks.

One of the expansion members, for example, iii, may be completely inserted between the seat and the arm i! without swinging the arm i8 away from the seat (Fig. 7), in which case the article may serve as a seat for more than one person.

The other expansion section 20 may similarly be completely inserted between the seat [5 and the arm member i8, in which arrangement the article may be used as a settee and can conveniently seat three persons (Fig. 5).

Both expansion members may be contiguously placed against the front of the seat l5 with the arm members ll and [8 in closed position, as in Figs. 4 and 6, whereby the article can serve as a lounge chair on which a person can recline.

While it has been set forth hereinabove that the foot and leg rest member consists preferably of at least two substantially triangular sections, said member may consist of only a single section, which in another embodiment of the invention may be four-sided and substantially rectangular, such as an oblong or square (see Fig. 8). In this case, if desired, only one of the side members need be hinged so that the single four-sided expansion section can be inserted only on one side of the chair when the arm member is swung to open position. However, it is preferable that both arm members be hinged so that the single expansion section can be inserted on either side of the chair as desired. Instead of a Single four sided substantially rectanglar expansion member or foot and leg rest member, two practically right angle triangular sections may comprise the foot and leg rest member. This form of foot and leg rest member (consisting of two right angle triangular expansion members) may be used in exactly the same manner as the expansion sections illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 5 or they may be combined so as to form together a rectangular expansion member and in that form inserted together in a space between the seat portion of the chair and one of the side or arm members, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 8. In this manner they serve the same purpose as the single rectangular expansion section 2| of Fig. 8.

All of the above described arrangements of the invention may be made with the modifications illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7 as well as that of Figs. 1, i and 5. However, in the case of the modification of Figs. 6 and '7, at least one of the expansion sections i9 and 20 should be so constructed that its bottom as well as its top may serve as a seating portion. This is necessary because it is readily been from Figs. 6 and 7 that either of the expansion sections i9 or 20 may be inserted between the seat i5 and the arm ll, but that the expansion section which is to be inserted between the seat I5 and the arm l8 must be inverted in order that the curved narrow end of the expansion section will properly conform to the rear curved portion of the space between the open arm member [8 and the seat I5.

It is also possible to have a combination of the triangular and the rectangular expansion members so as to employ a foot and leg rest member having three sections, one rectangular and the other two triangular. With three of such sections, many varied combinations of the elements of the chair may be made which are obvious from the varied combinations hereinabove described.

In all of the above description, nothing has been said about means of attaching together the various movable parts of the article of furniture of the invention for the reason that generally no attaching means other than the hinges between the chair and the arms may be necessary. However, if it should be desired to removably secure the foot and leg rest member to the seat or to attach the expansion sections 19 and 20 together or to removably secure the sides of the arm members to the sides of the chair or to removably attach the inserted expansion sections [9, 20 and 2| to the seat and arm members, suitable attaching means, such as illustrated in Fig. 3 as an example, may be employed.

The locking device illustrated consists of two parts, of which reference numeral 30 represents the catch part as a whole and 3| represents the clasp part.

The catch portion consists of a well member 32 comprising a box 33 which may be closed at one end and an outside annular flange 34 at the open end thereof. An L or T shaped slidable hook bolt member 35 is arranged with its staff or longer arm 36 slidably inserted within the box 33. This staff arm 36 is preferably associated with means for limiting the extent to which it may be withdrawn from the box, comprising a slot 37 by which the extent of the movement of the bolt 35 may be controlled. A pin 38 attached to an inner wall of the box 33, preferably at the forward portion thereof, projects into the slot 31 so as to prevent the bolt 35 from being completely withdrawn from the box. It is also desirable that one end of a spring 40 be fixed to a suitable point 48 preferably at the rear of the box 33 and the other end thereof be fixed to a convenient point 49 of the inner part of the stafi 36 to retract the staff 36 into the box 33 when the bolt 35 is released. It is convenient for the catch member 30 to include means for holding the bolt 35 in withdrawn position. A suitable form of such means includes an extension 4| of the annular flange 34 constructed in the open end of the box 33 to coact with a stop 42 on the staff 36 to prevent the retraction of the staff into the box 33 and hold the bolt 35 in attaching position.

The clasp member 3| consists of a flange 45, by which it is affixed in any suitable manner to the desired portion of the article, and of a depending inverted cup portion 46.

In afiixing the clasp member 3| and the catch member 30 to their respective places on the article, each should be placed preferably depressed or counter-sunk, as shown in Fig. 3 so that when the bolt 35 is completely retracted, no portion of the attaching means will project beyond the plane of the side into which it is affixed.

In the operation of the attaching means, the bolt 35 is withdrawn from the box 33 to an extent allowable by the pin 38 and is retained in attaching position by the coaction of the stop 42 against the extension 4|. The two parts of the locking device are then brought close together and the inverted cup 46 of the clamp member 3! is then placed over the vertical arm 39 of the bolt 35.

When it is desired to detach the members, the member bearing the clamp 3| is momentarily raised until the vertical arm 39 is exposed and the bolt 35 is raised so as to disengage the stop 42 from the extension 4|. Upon releasing the bolt 35, the contraction of the extended spring 40 retracts the staff 36 into the box 33.

While my invention has been described in connection with the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings and described hereinabove, it is understood that the invention is not restricted to the illustrated embodiment and that other suitable modifications, variations and changes thereof may be made within the scope of the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion and a back portion, side or arm members at least one of which is swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member and a foot and leg rest member consisting of at least one section of substantially the same height from the floor as the seat portion of the chair member, said foot and leg rest member being adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair member as an ottoman and to be inserted as an expansion member in the space produced by swinging at least one of the side or arm members away from the seat portion of the chair.

2. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion and a back portion, side or arm members at least one of which is swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member, a foot and leg rest member consisting of at least one section of substantially the same height from the floor as the seat portion of the chair member, said foot and leg rest member being adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair member as an ottoman and to be inserted as an expansion member in the space produced by swinging at least one of the side or arm members away from the seat portion of the chair, and means in the touching sides of the seat portion, of the at least one swingably attached side member, and of the at least one section of the foot and leg rest member for removably securing the swingable side member and the foot and leg rest member to the seat portion of the chair when the foot and leg rest member is used as such, or to removably secure the latter, when used as an expansion section in inserted position, to the side member and the side of the seat portion.

3. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion and a back portion, two side or arm members swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member and a foot and leg rest member consisting of at least two separable sections complementary to one another and of substantially the same height from the floor as the seat portion of the chair member, said sections being adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair member as an ottoman and being of such form as to permit at least one of them to be inserted as an expansion member or as complementary expansion members in either space produced by swinging a side or arm member away from the seat portion of the chair.

4. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion and a back portion, two side or arm members swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member and a foot and leg restmember consisting of at least two separable, three sided, sections complementary to one another and of substantially the same height from the floor as the seat portion of the chair member, said sections being adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair member as an ottoman and being of such form as to permit at least one of them to be inserted as an expansion member or as complementary expansion members in either space produced by swinging a side or arm member away from the seat portion of the chair.

5. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion and a back portion, two side or arm members swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member and a foot and leg rest member consisting of two separable, substantially triangular, complementary sections, said sections being of substantially the same height from the floor as the seat portion of the chair and adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair as an ottoman and being of such form as to permit each of them to be inserted separately as a single expansion member, singly one into each space produced by swinging a side or arm member away from the seat portion of the chair.

6. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion, both ends of the rear part thereof being rounded in a vertical plane, and a backportion, two side or arm members, each rounded at its rear part to substantially conform to the rounded parts of the rear of the seat and swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member and a. foot and leg rest member consisting of two separable, substantially triangular, complementary sections, said sections being of substantially the same height from the floor as the seat portion of the chair and adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair as an ottoman and being rounded in a vertical plane at the apex which would rest adjacent the end base of the other when the two are in complementary adjacent position so that the two sections are of such form as to permit each of them to be inserted separately as a single expansion member, singly one into each space produced by swinging a side or arm member away from the seat portion of the chair.

'7. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion and a back portion, side or arm members at least one of which is swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member and a substantially rectangular foot and leg rest member adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair member as an. ottoman and being of such form as to permit its being inserted as an expansion member in the space produced by swinging at least one of the side or arm members away from the seat portion of the chair until it stands in substantially the extension of the plane of the back portion of the chair member.

8. In a convertible article of furniture of the type described, means for removably attaching together contiguous sides of separate parts thereof, which means consist of a clasp member, comprising a flange portion and depending therefrom an inverted cup portion, afiixed to one part of the article, and afiixed to the other part of the article a catch member comprising a hollow box member, a flange at the outside end of the box having an aperture opening into the box, a hook bolt member comprising a staff arm and a catching arm in slidable position with its staff arm inserted through the aperture into the box, means for controlling the extent to which the bolt member may be held withdrawn from the box through the aperture in the flange, the relative positions of the clasp member and the catch member in their respective parts of the article being such that the inverted cup portion of the clasp member can be engaged in attaching position with the catching arm of the bolt when the latter is in withdrawn position.

9. A convertible article of furniture comprising in combination a chair member consisting of a seat portion and a back portion, two side or arm members swingably attached to the rear portion of the chair member and a foot and leg rest member consisting of two separable, right angle triangular, complementary sections, said sections being of substantially the same height from the floor as the seat portion of the chair and adapted to rest on the floor for use in front of the chair as an ottoman and being of such form as to permit one or more of them to be inserted as an expansion member or as complementary expansion members in the space produced by swinging a side or arm member away from the seat portion of the chair.

VERNON M. KRAINBILL. 

